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Have you ever heard someone say, “If you take garlic and basil and tomato sauce and mix it all together, eventually, you’ll get chocolate cake batter”?

Probably not. And if you did, you’d probably think they had a few screws loose.

How about, “If you go out with drug users, alcoholics, or abusive people, you’re sure to end up with the spouse of your dreams”?

Yeah, right. You can start a betting pool to see how fast that relationship falls to pieces.

And if you live in New Jersey and you set your GPS for Florida, eventually, you’ll end up in North Dakota.

You’re kidding, right?

And then there are those people who say that any religion — or for that matter, ANY path — will get you to Heaven. That it doesn’t matter what you believe, you’ll end up blissfully happy for all eternity.

Now some people will read that and laugh, thinking it sounds silly and that you’d have to be nuts to think that it doesn’t matter what you believe in.

While others will say, “Well yes, it really doesn’t matter what you believe. God — or goddess or talking tree gnome of the universe — is so kind and merciful, just believe any way you want.”

Which I think means you don’t have to pray. You don’t have to live by any moral code or even the natural law. You don’t have to read, study, or explore and search for the One True God. In fact, you don’t have to do much of anything. You know, just ‘be.’

Now it’s been said that the law of God is written in the hearts of men (cf Romans 2:14-16) So if you’ve never heard of the Catholic Faith, the law of God is written on your heart so at least you will have a sense of right and wrong, moral and immoral.

But in the 21st century with the all-knowing Internet available as well as eons of knowledge floating around, it’s pretty hard to make the case a person has never heard of Catholicism. Yes, yes… I’ve heard of the lone man on a deserted island somewhere who has never had the Gospel preached to him. See Romans 2:14-16 above and lets move on, shall we?

Look, I think it’s pretty obvious that if you put together ingredients for spaghetti sauce in hopes you’ll get chocolate cake batter, it’s not going to happen. If you date horrific people, you’re not going to end up with a good relationship. And if you hope to get to North Dakota by driving to Florida, you’re going to end up in, well, you know… Florida.

And I think that’s kind of how it is with your journey to Heaven.

Be open to God’s grace. Be open to the truth. Be smart enough to understand that just because you want something to be true doesn’t make it so. And to be quite honest, that applies to people who are already Catholic as well as those who aren’t.

Because if you’re not willing to pursue truth to it’s rational conclusion (and be willing to accept and live whatever that conclusion is), then you’re going to be eating some pretty terrible tasting chocolate cake batter. Not only today, but for a really long time to come.

A day when Jesus Christ made the ultimate sacrifice. When He was abandoned by His followers, beaten, blindfolded, slapped, hit, punched, mocked, blasphemed, scourged, crowned with thorns, forced to carry a wooden cross, and allowed Himself to be nailed to that cross.

Why?

Because He loves us, plain and simple. He loves us so much that He was willing to be punished for our sins. Yours. Mine. His. Hers. Even that guy over there.

People who love each other do things like that, you know, sacrifice. Right?

Don’t you give up things for people you love? Don’t you go through great pains and sacrifices for others? Friends, neighbors, children, spouses? Haven’t there been times you’ve denied yourself of something you love to do for someone else?

I’ll bet you have.

Which is why I always wonder when I hear people say “I love Jesus” and there isn’t any sacrificing or self denial.

– “Get up early to go to Mass? Yeah, I don’t think so.”

– “What? You want me to fast today? I’ll die!”

– “They used to abstain from meat on Fridays in the old days, but we don’t have to do that anymore.”

And on and on it goes.

But the obvious question seems to be, how much do you really love Jesus if you aren’t willing to make sacrifices for Him or for others?

I’m not trying to launch some kind of guilt trip here, but it just seems to me that if we’re going to say we love Our Lord, we could at least try to show it, you know?

I’ve seen people who can stay up all night and party, denying themselves sleep, and not think anything of it. I know of others who put themselves through grueling exercise routines day after day without complaint. Still others deny themselves certain kinds of food for a diet so they can have a ‘killer bod.’ But when you ask these same people to do fifteen minutes of spiritual reading each day, they practically go into fits telling you how they don’t have time or it’s just too hard to make that kind of commitment or that they don’t want to turn into some kind of ‘Jesus freak.’

Yeah, right.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said “And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth me, is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:38)

So basically, if you’re not willing to take up your cross (sacrifices, self-denial, the travails of daily life), you’re not worthy of Jesus. Doesn’t that sound horrible? Who wouldn’t want to be found worthy by Jesus Christ?

But just what is Jesus asking of you? To be scourged to the point where you can see the bones of your body through the tears in the flesh? Crowned with thorns that go through your skull and pierce your brain? Having your hands and feet nailed to a cross?

No. Not even close.

He is asking that we show our love for Him by loving Him more than anyone or anything else on this earth. And that could mean fasting, abstaining from meat on certain days, giving up a dessert, praying more, complaining less, even giving up people or things that are not good for us.

To me, there’s something scary about not being considered worthy of Jesus Christ. And if making sacrifices is something we have to do to show our love for Jesus, then why wouldn’t we?

And what better day to show that love than on this Good Friday… and every day after.

One of the many great things about being Catholic is that when you’re Catholic, you know you’re in the right place.

And to me, that’s a lot more comforting than looking around at the approximately 41,000 so-called Christian ‘religions’ and trying to figure out which one is right.

Because here’s what I don’t understand…

God sent His only begotten Son (the way, and the truth, and the life (John 14:6)) to the earth who in turn appointed apostles to preach the Gospel to all nations as it was taught to them by the Son (Matthew 28:19), i.e., the way, the truth, and the life.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t recall reading or being taught that Jesus is the ‘truths.’ I don’t think He said “I’m telling you the truth, but if you don’t want to believe that truth, well, then here’s a another truth.” Did He create 41,000 truths?

And then some people laugh at me and say, “Oh man, you’re such a dope.”

Okay, I’ll agree I can be a dope. Let’s move on…

Because if Jesus is God and God is Truth, how can there be more than one truth?

It’s like saying, “Well yes, gravity is real but if you don’t want to believe it, make up something else that you like better.”

You see what I mean?

To me, there can be only one Church. One institution founded by Christ with the authority of Christ to lead and guide all Christians. If not, then something crazy could happen like, oh, I don’t know… 41,000 Christian denominations could spring up out of nowhere?

But with a little look at history, you’ll quickly see that these denominations didn’t just start on their own like some Darwinian pipe dream.

No, unlike the Catholic Church, they were all founded by men who apparently thought they could do it better than Jesus Christ.

Do you know who founded the Lutheran church? Martin Luther.

How about the Baptists? That would be John Smyth.

And the Anglicans? King Henry VIII.

The Latter Day Saints? Joseph Smith.

Calvinism? John Calvin

Presbyterianism? John Knox

Salvation Army? William Booth

Jehovah’s Witnesses? Charles Russell

Christian Science? Mary Baker Eddy

Notice a pattern here?

All these non-Catholic religions were founded by fallible human beings. Human beings who thought they could do it better. Better than the God they professed to honor and worship.

Talk about having major pride issues!

So if you’re not sure if the Catholic Church is the Church of Christ, I encourage you to read the preface to the Catholic apologetics book series called Radio Replies , written by Archbishop Fulton Sheen. You can also find it on my About page.

“For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son…” (John 3:16)

Just one Son. No more, no less. One Truth…

No more, no less.

“And behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.” (Matthew 28:20)

During the Lenten season, whenever I hear the Gospel accounts of the Passion and death of Jesus, I think: “Dang, how could the Jews have taken the Son of God and had Him killed? Didn’t they know that God was right there in front of them? Didn’t they know that this was Jesus the Christ, the One they had been waiting for?”

Then I heard a sermon from a priest who pointed out that the Jews wanted the death of Jesus because He wasn’t what they wanted or expected. The Jews thought the Christ was going to be a ruler who would restore their power and honor. He would be a material Christ, someone who would bring temporal power and riches and all the yummy things of the world that go with it. If the Jewish leaders accepted this Man as the Messiah, they stood to lose a lot in terms of power and influence. So they took the easier route: They rejected Jesus and had Him disposed of.

So after Jesus was crucified, the Jews continued to be Jewish, waiting for a Messiah who more closely matched their expectations. And as of this writing, they’re still waiting.

But before we get all haughty and rail at the Jews for not embracing Christianity, we need to look in the mirror ourselves. As in, how many times do we refuse to accept God’s will for us because things don’t turn out the way we want them to?

– You didn’t get the job or career you wanted.

– A relationship with someone you wanted very badly didn’t turn out.

– Your car wouldn’t start.

– You ordered ham on rye at the deli and you got turkey breast on wheat.

Or even worse, how many Catholics either don’t practice their faith or have left it altogether because it wasn’t what they wanted it to be? They don’t like what the Church teaches on marriage or contraception or Mary or _______ (fill in the many beefs people have with the Catholic faith).

Or how many Catholics do you know who say stuff like “Well, that may be what the Church teaches, but I don’t agree with it” then choose to create a religion more to their liking?

Happens all the time.

Yet what I hear in myself when I don’t like something that happens to me is “Yeah, uh, no thanks. I don’t want this. I want my way, not this garbage that’s happening to me.” Which is kind of like praying the Our Father and instead of saying, “… Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven” you say, “… MY will be done.”

So let’s see…

I — a creation of God — want to look God in the eye and say, “You know what? I don’t think I want to do things your way.” You know, kind of like saying, “Non serviam,” a famous quotation made by another creature of God who didn’t want to do His will: Lucifer.

Look, I’m not saying it’s always easy doing and accepting God’s will. But name me a saint who took the easy route. A saint whose life was one long easy path, filled with easy on ramps that fed into smooth sailing down the highway.

You can’t because there’s no such thing.

Every moment of your life is one where you say either, “Yes, Lord,” or “No way, Lord!” And I’ll have to admit, that many times, saying ‘No’ to God is easier.

But let’s be honest here, there is no group called “Sissies for Christ.” It doesn’t exist… never will. The only way to Heaven is by the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13).

Do we have the guts to embrace Christ and His will for us or do we too say, “Away with him; away with him; crucify him” (John 19:15)?

God gave us free will to choose. His way or our way? The narrow gate or the broad way?

Today is March 25th, the Feast of the Annunciation. The event in history when the angel Gabriel went to Mary and announced that she was to be the Mother of God. All she had to do was say ‘Yes.’

That’s it.

Just say ‘yes’, Mary. Heaven is waiting in silence for you to say ‘yes.’

Well of course she said ‘yes’ and as they say, the rest is history. But what if she had said ‘no’ to God? Things would have turned out quite differently, don’t you think?

And then there was St. Joseph. He too said ‘yes’ to God when he took Mary to be his wife. Now here was a guy who was told to take a wife who was a virgin and had taken a vow to be one the rest of her life. On top of that, he later discovers that Mary is pregnant and he had nothing to do with it. Yet Joseph still said ‘yes’ to God.

Now I don’t know about you, but I’m glad God didn’t ask me to offer that resounding ‘yes’ way back when. Chances are, I would have blown it. Because I am deathly afraid to let go and just do what God is asking me to do. How about you?

I mean, what if God asks me to do something difficult or scary or embarrassing? What if God asks me to do something I can’t do? What if I fail? What if people laugh at me? Or worse, what if they get angry and tear into me?

And that’s why I have to work on building up my confidence in God. Confidence that says “You know what? I don’t know how this is going to work or even if it will work, but I know it’s what God wants me to do.” Jesus said over and over and over in the Bible to “Fear not.” Easier said than done sometimes for us humans diseased with Original Sin.

Unfortunately, we don’t have angels appear to us, telling us to do this or do that, go here or go there, pick these winning lottery numbers or those. Instead, we get inspirations from God in more subtle ways like through prayer and by virtue of having a strong sacramental life. In fact, most of the time, we can have a pretty good idea about what God wants for us.

But something that also gets in the way is a pride that says “I know better than you, God” or even just an almost childish stubbornness when you hear yourself saying, “I don’t want to do what You want me to do, I want things my own way.”

And of course, when you get your own way, things usually go south pretty quick. It’s as if God says, “Okay, you want it your way? Go give it a try. I’ll wait here for you…”

Thankfully, Mary and Joseph were not the selfish or prideful sort. Their “Yeses” were the beginning of the greatest story the world has ever known: The birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

So during this Lenten season, if you too are having some trust issues with God, take the time and effort to put your will in the dumpster and embrace what God has for you.

It’s not easy… no one ever said it was. But who ever said being a Catholic would be easy?

I don’t know about you, but when I look around today at the state of men and manhood, I get sick to my stomach. At no time in history does it seem that men are more confused about what it takes to be a man. Instead, we see a lot of effeminate men, men prancing around acting feminine, refusing to take on the responsibility of manhood.

Of course, in today’s world, if you try to put men through a litmus test of masculinity, people will howl and tear at you for being so insensitive or biased or hateful (PUT YOUR SCATHING ADJECTIVE HERE). And of course the mother of all adjectives: Judgmental.

But if the world is going to slap this word on your forehead, you might as well have some standard of judging. Right?

For us Catholics that’s pretty easy. Because I can’t think of any better model and standard of manhood than that of St. Joseph.

Here is a man that God thought so much of, he made him the head of his household. A household consisting of the Blessed Virgin Mary – the Mother of God – and of course, Jesus Christ Himself – the Son of God.

Basically, God scoured the world, looking for a man worthy of this honor, and he came up with Joseph.

Was Joseph some pompous rich guy?

No, he was a poor carpenter.

Was Joseph a guy of power and influence, hailing from a great city?

No, St. Joseph was from a podunk, backwater town called Nazareth.

Was Joseph some loudmouth braggart, running around telling everyone how great he was?

No, Joseph was a man of humble silence, not even having one word attributed to him in the Bible.

So what qualities did God find in St. Joseph, qualities that us men today can imitate and follow? Well, we know for a fact that Joseph was:

– Just

– Chaste

– Prudent

– Valiant

– Obedient

– Faithful

– Patient

Now, look around the world and see if you can find men like this. More important, as a guy, look in the mirror and see if those qualities are staring back at you. Did you see one of them? Some of them? None of them?

It should give us a good picture of what we need to work on. Of course, don’t go all superhero on us and try to tackle all of them at once. No… try working on them one at a time. I mean, which one of us would be worse off if we were to practice being just? Chaste? Valiant? Patient?

My guess is if us men were more like St. Joseph, the world would be a better place. A MUCH better place.

So on this feast of St. Joseph, let’s take up the challenge of being more like Joseph by…

– Imitating the virtues of St. Joseph

– Doing something every day to grow in holiness

– And never (NEVER!) quitting your God-given mission, no matter how difficult or exhausting it may be.

The world desperately needs more St. Josephs. Are you up for the challenge?

———————————————

The Litany of Saint Joseph

(For public or private use)

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us. God the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us. Holy Mary, pray for us . Saint Joseph, pray for us. Illustrious son of David, etc. Light of the patriarchs, Spouse of the Mother of God, Chaste guardian of the Virgin, Foster-father of the Son of God, Watchful defender of Christ, Head of the Holy Family, Joseph most just, Joseph most chaste, Joseph most prudent, Joseph most valiant, Joseph most obedient, Joseph most faithful, Mirror of patience, Lover of poverty, Model of workmen , Glory of domestic life, Guardian of virgins, Pillar of families, Solace of the afflicted, Hope of the sick, Patron of the dying, Terror of demons, Protector of Holy Church,

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

V. He made him the lord of His household, R. And prince over all His possessions.

Let Us Pray.

O God, Who in Thine ineffable providence didst choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most Holy Mother, grant that as we venerate him as our protector on earth, we may deserve to have him as our intercessor in Heaven, Thou Who livest and reignest forever and ever. R. Amen.